


Promised Land: Until We Meet Again

by Jeredu



Series: Promised Land [4]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Illustrated, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-17 23:36:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17570078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeredu/pseuds/Jeredu
Summary: In which certain things Jade Curtiss left unsaid are finally addressed.





	Promised Land: Until We Meet Again

 

Jade had not known what to expect as the world faded to black around him. All he had known was that the pain and exhaustion had receded into the same quiet darkness that beckoned him to follow suit. Broken and bleeding, he surrendered and knew no more.

 

* * *

 

The first thing that filtered into Jade’s conscious thought was that he was warm and without pain. A moment later, the realization that he was experiencing conscious thought sank in. It was hard to say if his eyes had been closed, or if he merely became aware of still existing. This place seemed nebulous, transient and dreamlike.

A hauntingly familiar figure stood in the nothing that surrounded him, patiently waiting for Jade, watching so intently that it was clear nothing in the world could be more important than waiting in this place, for this very thing.

Peony, with joy evident in every line of his body, took a single step forward to clasp Jade’s shoulders.

“You crazy, magnificent bastard. You really pulled it off.” Of course, Peony was dead. He had been dead for some time, now, but this seemed too vivid to be a memory. The admiration and pride in those piercing blue eyes was all too real.

Jade allowed Peony to tug him forward into an embrace, brief but tight enough to steal his breath away (for that must surely be the reason). Somehow, impossibly, Peony seemed to know all that had transpired in his absence. As Peony disentangled himself and stepped back, his hand remained on Jade’s shoulder, reluctant to relinquish his hold just yet. His gaze had grown softer, affectionate.

“So my arduous task is finally complete?” Jade finally asked softly in response. “Did we succeed?”

Peony grinned.

“You better believe it. But your time isn't up just yet.” Peony tilted his head, his smile curving crooked. “Believe it or not, I... really think there's something worth waiting for, Jade. It’s out there, still to come. Your story doesn't end here, unless you _want_ it to end here.”

Peony still seemed to harbor the delusional notion that Jade deserved some greater happiness, after all of this. Peony _wanted_ him to be happy, even if it meant moving on. Of this, Jade was somehow certain.

"You are _my_ Jade,” Peony whispered, “but that just means I want you to be _happy_ more than I want anything else for you. If you think you'd be willing to try, and to trust me one last time... I think you should turn around, go see that world out there as a free man, and find it."

Jade had long since given up any real hope of _after_. He had been ready to die; he felt that his continued survival had merely meant he’d been presented with a chance to atone. He would have stayed to clean up the mess he created, even if it might never be enough.

But now, Peony was asking him to live for life’s sake, and that was something Jade wasn't sure he knew how to do anymore. But, Jade supposed, the most rewarding things in life were seldom easy. Such a challenge was merely another obstacle to overcome.

“Find what, exactly?’” Jade asked, raising an eyebrow.

Peony chuckled.

“A _reason_ to keep living. A reason that makes you _want_ to keep living. I'm not going anywhere, Jade,” Peony said firmly. “I'll be waiting here, for the day you're _finally_ ready to cross over without regrets and not look back.”

And that was the crux of this, wasn't it? As much as he would like to join Peony, there were loose ends, regrets, and things only Jade could do.

As if sensing Jade’s hesitation, Peony spoke softer, despite his hand paradoxically tightening on Jade’s shoulder.

“You... you don't have to _give anything up_ , Jade,” he whispered, somehow sounding more fierce than ever before. “You can go live that life, and I'll still be here to welcome you. I promise.”

Jade took the moment to just _look_ at Peony, to let this moment sink in, as he stood at this crossroads.

“...I…” Yet the words caught in his throat.

“It might suck for a while at first,” Peony admitted with a raspy chuckle, “but you've never let that stop you before. If you come with me now, you'll never know what could have been. But... it's your choice.”

That, it was.

“...All right,” Jade said with a soft laugh. “This is why I'll miss having you around. You make the oddest sort of sense where logic fails me.”

Peony’s answering grin was fit to outshine the sun. “Right, because that's the only reason.” Oh, how he had missed the deep richness of his Emperor’s laugh, untainted by sorrow or sickness.

“Quite,” Jade said, his mouth finally curving into an answering smile. Peony leaned close, and Jade met him halfway, unresisting.

When Peony finally released him, Jade stepped back. It felt for all the world as if the ghost of Peony’s warmth still tingled against his lips, like the hand still lingering on his shoulder. Peony caught his eyes before he could turn away.

"I love you. Never forget that."

  

Jade's throat felt tight, even though his chest felt lighter at the reminder.

"You always were a sentimental fool, Peony. ...But I suppose that makes me one as well,” and here he hesitated, but Peony’s gaze upon him was patient, expectant. “Because... I feel the same way."

_Idiot. I love you too._

Peony’s smile turned soft and joyous.

"I know. I've known for a long time. Probably had it figured out before you did. ...I'll see you around, Jade."

As Jade turned to leave, his vision began blurring as it had before. He scrubbed a hand across his eyes, for they stung with the same fire. He would not look back. Jade knew with absolute certainty that this was truly, truly goodbye, until his own end finally came and he could cross that threshold without regret.

“...Until we meet again, Peony.”

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Slip already covered most of the things I would want to say, at the end of Ch 14, but I also wanted to thank everybody for joining us on this wild ride! It was an emotional rollercoaster, but it has been some of the most fun I've had in a long time. 
> 
> Thank you, Slip, for this brilliant idea. It was your premise that inspired me to draw and plot and write all of this with you, so it definitely couldn't have happened without you, either. This has been so much fun and feels, and writing with you has been an absolute joy and inspiration.
> 
> Thank you to Nix for beta reading and really pushing this to be the best it possibly could be! Your insight and suggestions were invaluable. Thank you, friend. 
> 
> Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has commented, on AO3 or in private or otherwise! Your questions and excitement and emotional responses really kept me pumped the whole way through, and I'm so grateful. 
> 
> Thank you, readers, for sticking it out until the end. This is the final installment of the Auldrant portion of Promised Land, and it has been a long haul. I hope you enjoyed this, because I have truly enjoyed working on it and sharing it with all of you. 
> 
> If you don't want to let this story go just yet... neither did we! :D There is still more to come, though future updates will be irregular and possibly shorter, centered around important character moments. 
> 
> Like Slip said, please feel free to comment if you have questions or wanted clarification. Also feel free to hit me up on twitter @JereduLevenin, or tumblr @jeredu. 
> 
> Thank you so much,
> 
> Jer
> 
> I hope to catch you on the flip side ;D


End file.
